


No one left at haven

by RipJawWolfFang



Category: DAI - Fandom, Dragon Age, Inquisition - Fandom
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, In Your Heart Shall Burn, Injury, Love, Oneshot, Sad, Whump, dying, relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-23
Updated: 2015-07-23
Packaged: 2018-04-10 20:21:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4406228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RipJawWolfFang/pseuds/RipJawWolfFang
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is an alternate ending for the mission "in your heart shall burn" in which Cullen has left to claim the bodies of those lost at haven, even the inquisitor, a Mage named Delilah, is still missing. <br/>She is found gravely wounded, and Cullen nurses her until a healer can arrive, or she passes away.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No one left at haven

**Author's Note:**

> This is set assuming there relationship is a little bit further along then the game allows, just roll with it. :3

I look out helplessly into the snow, my eyes carefully scanning every inch of the powder as I search for any sign of life in the Broken ruins that lay before me. Coming back here, to haven, days after that blasted dragons attack, it seems pretty hopeless to expect much of anything. 

Worse still, my beloved Delilah, the herald lays beneath this mess somewhere, and I only hope I can find her and lay her to rest the way she deserves; not to be trapped frozen and alone under mounds of snow.

I turn back to my men, grim faced and ready to give orders. What should I say, though? I'm not even sure. Should I be telling them to look for survivors, or would that be giving them to much hope? I could instead tell them we are trying to recover there bodies, but that would make the situation feel even more hopeless. 

I sigh and thoughtfully rub my forehead with my hand. Maker, if only she where here to guide me. 

"Alright men." I finally shout, loud enough for the twenty soldiers I had bought to hear me clearly. "You have a job to do, each of you. Dig out and search the buildings, alert me if you find anything important immediately." 

None of them seem like there pleased with the task, and to tell the truth I'm not either. All I can picture, all my minds eye can see, is her face, cold and broken and dead. If we manage to find her body at all, that is. 

I turn, deciding to lead by example and grabbing a shovel, starting where I can see some structures peaking out of the snow that may have survived. 

Hour by hour we work, it's hard work made ever harder by the ice cold that nips at everyone's heals; intent on slowing progress down even more. As night falls, I gather up my men into the camp we have made, and look over what they have found. Bodies both of people I recognise and those I don't. Delilah is not among them, of coarse she isn't. I can't help but wonder if the blighted dragon even left her body recognisable. 

"Sir." A young man, with dark hair and darker eyes came rushing from behind, looking frazzled. "I found a cave commander." He pointed up behind us. "I know you called us back for the eve, but it could be worth a look sir." 

I nod slowly, taking a torch and heading up the hill. It would be to much to ask of the maker to have sheltered her, and holding out hope was as tiring as the shovelling. 

"Very good, lead the way." 

The soldier takes me to the entrance, shattered wooden planks the only thing that had once kept this passage open. 

Carefully I descend, my armour protecting me from the sharp rocks on the way down and I change my mind about weather or not I actually want to find the Mage down here. These rocks, they would have torn right through her light armour. Even so, when I cast my torch around and see blood droplets, leading off into a far corner of the cave my heart skips a beat and I pick up speed. 

Then I see it, and I immediately fall to my knees, dropping my torch beside the mass that has fallen, her back pressed to the cave wall, and slumped over herself. 

I look away for a moment, fighting back the urge to cry out, to curse the maker for letting her go in such a place. Slowly I raise my head though, and then reach out gently. Gingerly I pull her forward, cradle her body into mine and hold her on my lap. She's so cold, but her body isn't stiff. Delilah can't have been long gone, and that thought haunts me more then anything. 

"I'm so sorry..." I whisper to her, stroking her hair and pulling back her cowl. She's so pale, and her lips have taken on the blue tinge of death, I wish I could bring the life back into them. 

Even now I have to check, I can't just assume she's gone. I lean down, my ear to her chest, listening for any signs that there could still be some life left in her frail body. 

'Thud... Thud... Thud thud...' 

My eyes light up and I pull myself up straight. I can hear her heart beating! It's weak, and I can hear it faltering, but it's there! Thank the maker it's there! It won't be for long though, and my joy quickly turns to determination. I turn back, yelling up the hole that I climbed down. 

"You! Get me potions, bandages... And blankets!" I order, taking him more then a little by surprise. "Now!" 

As he turns, I quickly try to remove my cloak. If I can wrap her body tightly, I can protect it from further injury on the way back up; that is the plan anyway, though I don't know how long she will last even then. 

"Herald." I whisper to her, as I try to huddle her body up into my own as much as I can with this thick armour. "Please, show me the strength I sore in your eyes when you left." I plead, hoping she can here me, hoping she knows I'm here for her. 

Climbing up is far harder then going down, but even so, I put everything I've got into each movement. Her body draped over my right shoulder as I grip a rope that had been thrown down to me with my left. I want to be more gentle then this, I want to hold her close and make her comfortable, but that would leave us stuck in this damn hole. 

As I reach the surface, I quickly cradle the Mage in close again, lifting her up into my arms and as fast as I can heading back to my tent. I don't have to look up to see the shock on there faces, simply to see her again, let alone alive. 

Carefully I lay her back in my cot, unwrapping her from my cloak taking a moment to take in what injuries I can see from outside her robes. There's blood, it's soaked right through the front of her enchanters robes. Maker, there's a lot of it. There was in the cave to, but I have to act now if I am to have any hope at stabilising her long enough to get to a Mage healer. 

How many times I have pictured untying these very strings as I work quickly to remove her coat; yet somehow this is the worst posable reason for it. For all my privet thoughts, I would rather not get to undress her at all then do so now. 

My hands shake as I carefully pull back the cloth to reveal the heralds body beneath; cold, pale, and a bloody gash running right through her left side, deep and wide enough to be mortal. 

"Damn it." I hiss, this certainly dose not look survivable, it changes my priority to trying to get her comfortable. 

I look over to where one of my men has come to my side, bringing the potions, bandages and blankets. Taking one of the towels, I press it to the wound, my heart almost breaking in two when it causes he frail body to give a weak gasp. 

"Hush..." I soothe. She's held on alone for four whole days. Probably with the aid of some of her own magic, though it's clearly running thin now. Thankfully, the pain seems to pass as I bind the wound as carefully as I can. 

"Commander... Sir... I...." The soldier at my side is trying not to look at her bare body, but I know he has seen enough. 

"Send scouts, get a Mage here as quickly as posable." I try to keep my voice calm, strong. I can't let him see me faultier. "Then leave us, I can take care of this, of her." 

"Yes, sir." 

He scampers out and I quickly move to remove the rest of her grabs, leaving the towel in place to soak up the blood. 

I cover the prone Mage with a blanket as I go, trying to keep her dignity intact despite her condition. She was always so proud, so strong. I don't want to take any of that away from her now.

Seeing my chance I quickly free myself of my own armour, leaving myself in nothing more then my undergarments. If I need the freedom of movement, I'll have it, though I doubt it will do her any good at this stage.

Crouching beside the cot and her body, I delicately take Delilah's small hand in my own, stroking the back softly with my thumb. I just want her to know someone's here, there isn't much else I can do for her. If I can get some of these potions into her, she will be more comfortable, and maybe have the strength to hold on through what I already knew would be a long night. 

The bottle opens with a little pop, and I think hard on it for a moment. It would be distressing for the herald if I tried to pour it down her throat and she ended up choking. I wouldn't want her last moments to be a struggle for air against my mistake. As it is, she stands to go pretty peacefully. She's already asleep, and her breaths are so faint they barely make her chest rise. 

Shifting for a moment, I move to sit next to her in the less then comfortable bed, then I carefully lift her up, her back to my chest, holding her as securely and comfortably as I can with the blanket still pulled around the Mage like an infant.

Another failing gasp passes her lips, and I know now she is definitely able to feel pain still. It's unnerving to know Delilah is suffering in my arms, and there really isn't a thing I can do about it right now. 

"I'm going to put just a little of this, it should dull some of the pain." I offer, just a warm whisper in the ears of the dying Mage. My breath ghosts across her neck, I just hope she knows she's not alone anymore. 

I dip my finger into the small vile, then let her head tilt back onto my shoulder slightly. Bringing my arms around the mages front and putting my finger with just a drop of the potion into her mouth, rubbing it on her tongue. Maker, she's cold. I let my finer slip out and pull her just a little closer. 

It is hardly enough to have a real effect, but I can give her just a drop at a time this way, preventing her from choking, so I repeat it again and again until the vile is empty. 

I pull the heralds small frame into mine and just hold her close, hoping I am providing some measure of comfort or warmth to my beloved Mage in this maker forsaken place. 

All that's left to do is wait, for the help to arrive, or for the Mage to slip away.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed... I could not get this little idea out of my head after playing the in your heart shall burn mission for whT is the fourth time now hahaha.   
> I went searching for something like this, and was so dismayed that I could not find it for my own reading pleasure that I went ahead and typed it up on my own. Hahaha   
> Anyone else know of any fics like this? Send them my way! Or Cullen - in bad withdrawal could be fun to! 


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